Karawang, W Java (ANTARA News) - A joint diving team managed to retrieve the black box of the crashed Lion Air plane from the waters of North Karawang, West Java, an official stated on Thursday.

"Both the Baruna Jaya boat and KRI Rigel warship located its position, and the joint diving team then dove deep down and pulled out the black box from the water," Col Iswarto, commander of the SAR task force, informed the press.

The black box was found at a depth of 25-35 meters under the sea and drifted for some 100 meters from the initial estimated location.

The black box was sent to the Tanjung Priok seaport and then handed over to officials of the National Committee for Transportation Safety.

The Lion Air plane JT610 crashed some 15 minutes after taking off from Jakarta and en route to Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung Province, on Monday morning.

The aircraft departed from Jakarta at 6:20 a.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 7:05 a.m. local time, according to the Depati Amir airport authority in Pangkalpinang.

Before it lost contact, the aircraft had sought permission to return to Jakarta due to a problem.

The aircraft carried 178 adult passengers, three infants, and six crew members as well as a pilot of Indian nationality and a co-pilot.

Among the aircraft`s passengers were an Italian national, tens of civil servants from the Finance Ministry and the Supreme Audit Agency, six legislators of Bangka Belitung, and three police officers.

The plane`s wreckage and several body parts were found floating in the sea not far from Jakarta on Monday, but there were no survivors.

A total of 44 divers were deployed to look for bodies of the victims.

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018